Stiefvater, M. (2011). The Scorpio races. New York, NY: Scholastic Press. ISBN: 978-0545-22490-1
Award: Michael L. Printz Award- 2012
Summary:The Scorpio Races is a book based upon mythical Celtic waterhorses . Each fall, people watch anxiously as dangerous waterhorses emerge from the sea. People from the island of Thisby attempt to race the waterhorses in the annual Scorpio Races for a cash prize, despite how violent the horses can be. The book follows the first girl to ever enter the race, Puck, who is an orphan living with her brothers, and Sean Kendrick, who has won the races a few times in the past. The two become friends and eventually a romantic relationship develops.
What I liked: I was looking for a book to read after I finished The Hunger Games and I read excellent reviews on The Scorpio Races, so I purchased it for my husband for Christmas (he was a little interested too!). It has been sitting on my bookshelf for months and I am so mad at myself for waiting until this class to read it! I thought the book was wonderful and I particularly enjoyed the author's writing style. I know it was written for teens, but the language didn't seem juvenile at all. I enjoyed reading about the characters and the plot was interesting enough to make the book hard to put down. I think this is wonderful read for young adults and adults.
Connections:
CC.9-10.R.L.3 Key Ideas and Details: Analyze how complex characters (e.g.,those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other
characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy
Classroom Activity:
Strategy 40- Journaling
In this activity, students will be working on dialogue journals. The dialogue journal will be set up as two columns on a sheet of paper. As the student reads, they will record their thoughts and questions about the book in the left column, paying particular attention to character development. When the student is finished reading the specified chapter or pages, they exchange their journal with their partner and respond to the thoughts and questions. I felt that this activity would work best with The Scorpio Races because students may have thoughts and feelings towards the book that they would not like to share with the entire class, but could spark great discussion. For example, if some aspects of Puck and Sean's relationship reminds them of a relationship they were in, they could journal about it and discuss it with their journal partner. This allows the students to make greater personal connections to the text, which will give them a greater understanding of the text.
Stiefvater, M. (2011). The Scorpio races. New York, NY: Scholastic Press. ISBN: 978-0545-22490-1
Award: Michael L. Printz Award- 2012
Summary: The Scorpio Races is a book based upon mythical Celtic waterhorses . Each fall, people watch anxiously as dangerous waterhorses emerge from the sea. People from the island of Thisby attempt to race the waterhorses in the annual Scorpio Races for a cash prize, despite how violent the horses can be. The book follows the first girl to ever enter the race, Puck, who is an orphan living with her brothers, and Sean Kendrick, who has won the races a few times in the past. The two become friends and eventually a romantic relationship develops.
What I liked: I was looking for a book to read after I finished The Hunger Games and I read excellent reviews on The Scorpio Races, so I purchased it for my husband for Christmas (he was a little interested too!). It has been sitting on my bookshelf for months and I am so mad at myself for waiting until this class to read it! I thought the book was wonderful and I particularly enjoyed the author's writing style. I know it was written for teens, but the language didn't seem juvenile at all. I enjoyed reading about the characters and the plot was interesting enough to make the book hard to put down. I think this is wonderful read for young adults and adults.
Connections:
CC.9-10.R.L.3 Key Ideas and Details: Analyze how complex characters (e.g.,those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other
characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy
Classroom Activity:
Strategy 40- Journaling
In this activity, students will be working on dialogue journals. The dialogue journal will be set up as two columns on a sheet of paper. As the student reads, they will record their thoughts and questions about the book in the left column, paying particular attention to character development. When the student is finished reading the specified chapter or pages, they exchange their journal with their partner and respond to the thoughts and questions. I felt that this activity would work best with The Scorpio Races because students may have thoughts and feelings towards the book that they would not like to share with the entire class, but could spark great discussion. For example, if some aspects of Puck and Sean's relationship reminds them of a relationship they were in, they could journal about it and discuss it with their journal partner. This allows the students to make greater personal connections to the text, which will give them a greater understanding of the text.